


Force Fed

by Sebastianthegiraffe13



Series: Shadows and Flickering Flame [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: M/M, Ren is self-destructive, Semi-established relationship, could be read as an eating disorder, hux is trying to understand, sort of, they're both idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-18
Updated: 2016-02-18
Packaged: 2018-05-21 10:41:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6048481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sebastianthegiraffe13/pseuds/Sebastianthegiraffe13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In order to complete his training, Kylo Ren is forced to make some 'sacrifices' during the day. General Hux is not impressed when he finds out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Force Fed

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on a thought I had regarding the Force.  
> Is it possible for Jedi/Sith to survive on the Force alone?

_He has given me orders, orders given so long ago, many months. I must starve my body in order to increase my Force awareness. The Force will give me strength, he says. The Force will provide energy for me. I do not know how long I must do this, but if he says I must, then I have no choice. The Force will lend its power to me. The Force shall feed me…_

* * *

Hux is thirty pages deep in a training report when there’s a knock on the door.

“Mmm?” He’s not quite distracted. Yet.

“Sir?” The trooper says, saluting. “Cap’n Phasma requests your presence in the lower training halls.”

Hux extracts himself from the report,  
“What for?”

“Lord Ren, sir.”

Hux has a sudden mental image of a blood-red lightsaber slashing through millions of credits worth of expensive equipment and stifles a groan,  
“What’s he destroyed now?”

The trooper shifts from foot to foot nervously,  
“Nothing, sir. It’s not that. He…umm…he’s just collapsed. Sir.”

It takes a second to sink in, but then Hux is on his feet and heading for the door,  
“Show me.”

* * *

The lower training halls are a scene of chaos, by the time Hux and the trooper make it downstairs. Half the equipment is in smoking ruins and the other half is all overturned. Scorch marks and streaks of melted plastic adorn the walls and the air smells acrid and smoky; Hux can feel it searing the back of his throat.

Ren is just a heap of crumpled black robes in the centre of the room, with Captain Phasma crouching over him.

“He just collapsed,” she says as Hux approaches, “No warning, nothing. Fine one second, down the next.”

Hux gestures to Ren’s still helmeted head,  
“Get that thing off. The catch is under the chin.”

Phasma struggles a bit with the helmet’s strange locking mechanism, but she manages to get it off. Ren is unconscious, his hair sweat-soaked and sticking to his face. It’s the first time since the Starkiller Base escapade that Hux has got a proper look at the knight’s face and he doesn’t like what he’s seeing.

Kylo Ren looks absolutely terrible: skin so pale it’s almost translucent, cheekbones protruding like shards of glass, deep bruised shadows under the eyes. Everything about him looks pinched and worn, like someone’s stretched him just a bit too far.

Hux rubs the bridge of his nose,  
“This is just what I need, Ren unconscious. Brilliant.” He sighs, then rounds on the trooper who accompanied him, “You, find two others and move Lord Ren to his quarters. Phasma, send for a medic.”

* * *

 The medic, DR-1426, is on the small side for a stormtrooper. Small, but extremely efficient. He strips Kylo Ren of his outer layers of clothing, gets him into bed and hooks him up to an IV, all within about ten minutes. Hux is quietly impressed.

“I’m not surprised he collapsed. I’m actually impressed he’s lasted this long.”

It takes Hux a second or two to work out that the medic is talking to him,  
“Lasted this long? What do you mean?”

DR-1426 shrugs,  
“I’ve known about this for months, General. He’s been starving himself, something to do with needing to improve his Force control or something like that.”

“You knew about this?” Hux rubs his forehead; he can feel a headache coming on. “You knew about this and you didn’t bother to say anything?”

Another shrug. DR-1426 isn’t known for being very talkative,  
“My duty is to keep the troops and officers healthy, sir. Self-destructive Sith lords are not my field of expertise. He came and asked me for vitamins, calcium supplements, that sort of thing. I assumed he knew what he was doing, sir.”

Hux groans inwardly,  
“How much damage did he do to himself?” _By the stars, Snoke is going to kill me if anything happens to him._

“My guess is he’s now relying almost solely on the supplements I gave him to keep himself healthy. Clearly that’s not working. He’s so low on calcium that his bones are actually starting to fracture on their own, especially his wrists. As you can see here, sir.” The medic flicks through some holocharts, pointing.

“Any ideas as to how we could find out for sure?”

“You could try asking the kitchen staff, sir. They might know. Other than that, the only person I can think of is currently lying unconscious in front of us. Sorry, General. Lord Ren doesn’t really keep up to date with his medical check-ups.”

Hux takes a deep breath in an effort to stop himself from screaming,  
“Right. I’ll start there then. Stay here, watch him, call me if there’s any change.”

“Will do, General.”

* * *

 Hux glances up as the door to the office opens,  
“Ah, CH-3786, thank you for coming. I wished to ask you a few questions.”

“About Lord Ren, sir?” The trooper says.

Hux raises an eyebrow,  
“Well guessed. Remove your helmet and have a seat.”

CH-3786 obliges, brushing a messy brown fringe out of his amber eyes. He is human, but with obvious implant scars across his cheeks and chin. Catching his general’s gaze, he raises his chin defiantly,  
“Reconstruction surgery, sir. I chose to keep the scars.”

Hux nods,  
“I see. Now, about Kylo Ren. What exactly do you do for him, as regards to food?”

CH-3786 shrugs,  
“When he first arrived on the base, I was told to make up a tray for him. I assumed it was because he didn’t want to be seen without his mask on. As time wore on, more and more of it came back on the tray. Then one day he brought the tray back and told me to just leave a few things on the bench for him, which I do.”

Hux frowns, steepling his fingers,  
“What do you leave for him?”

“Mostly tea and sugar, though I lose a jar of peanut butter every few months as well.” The trooper says, “Nothing of consequence. I always assumed he ate in the mess hall outside of normal hours and just wanted the tea for his private quarters.”

Hux sighs,  
“Thank you for your time, CH-3786. You are dimissed.”

CH-3786 salutes, replaces his helmet and leaves. Hux leaves too, heading for Kylo Ren’s quarters.

* * *

 DR-1426 hasn’t moved from his position next to the bed. He glances up when Hux opens the door, then goes back to skimming through holocharts and data readings.

Hux pulls up a chair and collapses into it,  
“They thought he was eating. I think it’s safe to say he isn’t and hasn’t been for a good few months, except for tea and peanut butter of all things. Had any brainwaves while I was gone?”

“Well, sir, in my experience, it’s possible for an individual to recover from severe malnutrition like this, particularly if it’s self-inflicted. But it won’t be easy, he’ll need someone watching him all the time, making sure he eats and everything.”

“Who?” Hux says.

DR-1426 looks decidedly uncomfortable as he explains,  
“Ideally you, sir.” He holds up a hand as the general opens his mouth to argue, “Hear me out, sir. Kylo Ren doesn’t trust a lot of people, sir, medics especially. I think you stand a much better chance of getting through to him. I’ve seen how you two interact, sir. He respects you, trusts you even.”

Hux pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to stave off the incoming headache,  
“You have a point. I’ll try. Any tips?”

DR-1426 smiles slightly,  
“Be tough on him, sir, take no nonsense and everything. But you’ll also need to be gentle with him. He hasn’t had a decent meal in some time, so suddenly trying to put food back in his system is going to hurt. The best thing you can do is just be there for him, sir. It’s going to be hard for him, and you too probably, but the only other option is to stick him on a feeding tube.”

Hux manages a wry smile,  
“Great, so I get stuck babysitting Kylo Ren. Fabulous. Anything else?”

“People don’t stop eating for no reason, sir. If you can find out why he stopped eating, then try and fix that problem. That might help. That’s all the advice I can give you, sir.” The medic rises, salutes and leaves.

Hux remains seated, staring at Ren’s unconscious form,  
“I hate you right now, you know that.” He sighs, “Oh well, guess it’ll give us some time to do some bonding.”

* * *

 Ren remains unconscious for the following six hours and Hux uses the time to make a sizeable dent in the pile of reports he has to get through. It’s been peaceful, quiet, the kind of quiet that Hux really likes, mostly because it allows him to get work done efficiently. The first sign he gets that Ren is regaining his senses is a slight pressure in the back of his mind, like something leaning on his senses.

“Ah, Lord Ren, glad to see you’re awake.”

“You can’t see me, your back’s to me.” Ren sounds like he’s grinning.

Hux turns round, raising one eyebrow. Ren is sitting up slightly, the blankets tangled around his waist. He still looks like death warmed over, all ghost paleness and inky shadows, but there’s a warm light sparkling in his dark eyes and he smiles.

Hux returns the grin,  
“How do you feel?”

“Like hell.” He chuckles weakly, then sobers, “What happened? Last thing I remember I was in the training halls. Next thing,” He gestures at himself.

Hux shrugs,  
“Medic said you were malnourished, enough to make you collapse. Hence the IV.”

Ren examines the needle in his arm and nods slowly,  
“I see. But I can’t stay like this forever. What now?”

“Apparently it’s fallen to me to look after you, or make sure you look after yourself.” Hux can’t help the note of annoyance that slips into his tone. Ren clearly picks up on it though, because he cringes and hunches over slightly.

“So what now?” He looks up at Hux, “Snoke gave me orders, what else was I supposed to do? Fasting is meant to improve Force concentration, but even when I ate nothing, it still did not help. I cannot find peace, I’m still being torn to pieces from the inside out.”  There is nothing but pain and anguish is his eyes and Hux feels a twinge of something. Almost sympathy.

Hux knows why Ren wears a mask. It’s to hide his face, hide the war going on behind his eyes. He’s too emotional, keeps his heart on his sleeve but Hux knows why. For Ren to lose his emotions, to hide them away completely, would be to lock himself away from the Force forever. The Dark Side needs passion, needs emotion to fuel it and that was the part Kylo Ren was always good at.

Ren is watching him closely, his dark eyes flickering slightly, their depth wavering. It makes him quite difficult to look at directly, like an animal that’s been cornered and Hux looks away.

Ren chuckles dryly,  
“Even now, at my weakest and most vulnerable, you still find me repulsive. You still find me hard to look at, General?”

“Unsettling, certainly.” Hux says, meeting the knight’s eyes. Ren just bares his teeth in an animalistic snarl and Hux continues, “You’ve always had a peculiar visage, Lord Ren.”

“Short of sticking a feeding tube in me, how do you intend to fix the problem? Because I sure as hell can’t fix it on my own.” There it is again, the vulnerability, the hunted look. Or haunted, Hux can’t quite make up his mind which.

He brushes a few loose strands of ginger hair out of his face and sighs,  
“DR-1426 has a very limited knowledge of what you’ve been doing to yourself. According to him, you’re not exactly consistent with your medical check-ups. Care to clarify?”

Ren shrugs,  
“Doc’s smart, he knew what I was doing to myself and kept his head down like he’s been trained to. Don’t blame him.”

“No, I don’t. This is completely and totally one hundred percent your fault, Ren and you know it.” Hux says with no feeling whatsoever, “So I will force you to eat and you will cooperate, since you obviously can’t be trusted to look after yourself. Can you do that, Ren?”

“I suppose so.” Ren grumbles, “How long do you plan on babysitting me? Forever?”

“Until I can be absolutely sure that you won’t lapse back into your old ways.” Hux mutters, half to himself.

Ren just grunts.

 

* * *

 

* * *

 

**_Here follows an extract from the daily log of Brendol Hux II, Commanding General of the First Order._ **

  _It’s been five days since I first agreed to take care of Kylo Ren, under the insistence of Medical Officer DR-1426._

 _F_ _ive days of constant arguing with Ren, whenever we’re in the same room._

_Ren fights me desperately, with every ounce of strength he has._

_So far, I haven’t made much progress, he still refuses to eat anything substantial, but he has taken to eating a slice of toast every morning._

_If he thinks I’m just going to give up on him, he’s got another thing coming._

_I may not like him very much, but he is under my protection as such and therefore he is my responsibility._

_I shall just have to persevere…_

* * *

**_Here follows an extract from the daily log of Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren._ **

_Five days._

_Five days of Hux’s constant nagging._

_I have a slice of toast each morning now and that seemed to shut him up for a while, but he’s started pushing me again, trying to make me eat more._

_I’ll never say it to his face, but I’m starting to wear down._

_I want to give in, I want to._

_But I worry about what Snoke will say._

_He gave me orders and I know that to disobey is to invite punishment._

_It has got to the point, however, where I do not care._

_I am tired of being exhausted, fed up of feeling sick all the time._

_I will…give in to the General’s demands…and suffer the consequences._

* * *

 “Hungry?” Hux enquires, pouring tea.

Ren eyes the plate of toast sceptically,  
“Still not convinced, I have to say. But yes, a bit.”

Hux pushes the plate across the table,  
“I think you just don’t trust your insides first thing. I’m going to have a shower; I want at least half of that gone by the time I get back.”

“Yes, sir.” Ren says, voice dripping sarcasm. But he picks up a piece of toast and starts nibbling the corner.

* * *

 Hux takes his time showering and gelling his hair, in order to give Ren as much time as possible. He’s hoping, aiming, for Ren to have eaten maybe a piece, possibly two. He feels a slight tingle of pride then, when he walks back into the kitchen and sees Ren staring at the last piece of toast with a defeated look on his face.

The knight looks up and shrugs,  
“Sorry, sir. I don’t think my stomach can take any more.”

Hux plucks the final slice from the plate,  
“Baby steps, Ren. Baby steps. But progress is progress. How do you feel?”

“Not sure. First step is keeping it down.” It’s said with a wry smile and Hux grins.

“Well, I’ve got several meetings today and one of them starts in…oh, twenty minutes. I’m off. Don’t kill yourself while I’m out.”

Ren has disappeared into the bathroom, but he pops his head round the door and waves,  
“See you later, General. Go conquer a system or something.”

Hux leaves, chuckling quietly under his breath. 

* * *

 Hux has a reasonably productive day. Six meetings, five of which have their matters resolved in less than an hour each. The final one starts off fine, drags through his lunch break and continues well into the afternoon. By the time it’s finally come to a sort of conclusion, Hux is into his tenth cup of caf and running on an otherwise empty stomach. It’s a combination that makes him exceedingly grumpy and waspish. Needless to say, the meeting ends with Hux feeling as though they’ve barely made any progress at all.

Ren is already back when Hux gets in, curled up on the sofa in a tangle of long limbs and black robes. Hux hangs up his coat and hat, removes his boots and wanders over to lean over the arm of the sofa. Ren looks up at him, one eyebrow raised questioningly.

Hux grins,  
“What?”

Ren gives him a thoroughly unimpressed look,  
“You know what. Can I help you with something?”

Hux makes a shooing motion with one hand,  
“Can you shove over so I can sit down?”

Ren rolls his eyes, but moves his long legs,  
“Yes, General.”

Hux plonks himself into the provided space,  
“Thank you kindly, Lord Ren. How was your day?”

Ren sits up, arching his back and grimacing,  
“Same as ever. Meditated. Had lunch. Went for a walk and terrorised some troopers by appearing round corners unexpectedly. Meditated some more. Came back here. Yours?”

“Tolerable. Six meetings, one still unresolved. And I missed lunch, which always makes me grumpy.” Hux leans his head back, closing his eyes.

Ren sits up, making the sofa creak,  
“I’ll make dinner. What do you fancy?”

Hux opens his eyes,  
“A glass of something wouldn’t go amiss.”

“Oh no.” Ren says, standing up and heading for the kitchen, “I know what you’re like with alcohol on an empty stomach. You’re worse than me.” He sticks his head around the corner,  
“So, pasta? I’m sure I can throw something together.”

Hux follows him,  
“You’re being strangely open towards food. Need any help?”

“I never said I was going to eat any of it, though I might. And no, I don’t need help.” He gestures Hux to the kitchen table, “Sit. This won’t take long.”

He flies around the kitchen, pulling things out and then produces a huge jar of sauce from the fridge. Ten minutes later, there are two plates of pasta and sauce on the table. It’s highly efficient; Hux is impressed. For someone who seems to have a thing against food, Ren knows what he’s doing when it comes to cooking.

“I never knew you were capable of doing such things with sauce, Ren.” Hux says, as they finish, having eaten in silence.

“Kylo,” Ren says, as he clears the plates away.

Hux blinks,  
“Pardon?”

Ren comes back to the table and sits down,  
“Since we seem to be stuck together for a while at least, I’d rather you called me Kylo.”

“Kylo it is then.” Hux says with a smile.

* * *

 Since Ren’s, _Kylo’s,_ quarters only have a double bed, they have to sleep side by side. Thankfully though, Ren, _Kylo,_ only sleeps on one side of the bed and managed to find another set of bedclothes for Hux so they’re only sharing space.

Watching Kylo sleeping, all tangled up in his blankets with his back to Hux, the general feels a sense of something approaching pride. He’s actually rather proud of his complicated human disaster of a roommate. Kylo has made more progress today than in the past five days; three pieces of toast for breakfast and then a reasonably sized plate of pasta for dinner.

_Now we just have to keep it up and while most of that is up to him, part of it will be down to me. Supportive, but not soft, that’s what DR-1426 said. So that is what I must be…_

* * *

 Terror. Cold, pure terror burning through his mind. Flashes of lightning illuminating deep red shadows. Wisps of black smoke curling into nothingness. And a voice whispering his name,  
“Ben…”

Then comes a burst of white-hot agony lancing straight through his chest and Hux sits up, panting.  
_Not my dream. It wasn’t my dream._  
Relax, breathe, calm down.  
Wait, if it wasn’t my dream, whose was it?  
Kylo Ren…

The Sith is twisting in his sleep, muttering under his breath, his face contorting in anguish. Hux has never seen Kylo’s nightmares in his own head before and suddenly everything makes sense.  
The raging emotions, the almost split personality, the shattered visage, the constant haunted-hunted look in his eyes. Everything stems from the terrible nightmares.

Seeing Kylo struggling in the grip of that cruel dream, Hux makes a decision. He moves closer and starts running his fingers through Kylo’s thick dark hair. It seems to work as a calming mechanism; Kylo sighs and relaxes. He curls in closer to Hux’s side and rests his head against the general’s chest. It’s the closest they’ve ever been to each other and Hux doesn’t find it entirely repulsive , particularly when Kylo makes a contented noise and snuggles closer.

* * *

 Waking up the second time is much smoother. Hux emerges from a vague blank blackness to find Kylo Ren still asleep against his side. The knight’s face is peaceful for once, expressionless in sleep. Hux can feel his stomach growling, but he doesn’t want to disturb the adorable picture of the sleeping Sith.

He needn’t have worried. Kylo stirs, blinks and rolls away from Hux,  
“Morning.” He sounds tired and very out of it.

Hux smiles, ruffling Kylo’s already messy curls,  
“Morning. Did you sleep well?” A half shrug, could mean yes, could also mean no. Hux sits up, “Breakfast?”

“Yes, actually. Toast or something will do for me.” Kylo props himself up on his elbows, “In about five minutes, once my brain wakes up properly.”

Hux watches him stretching like a cat,  
“Tea as well?”

“Mmm, please. Black, one sugar.”

* * *

 Over breakfast, amid toast and various other things, Kylo says something rather unexpected.

“Thank you for last night. I felt you chasing my nightmare away.”

Hux half-smiles,  
“Glad I could help. What were you dreaming about anyway? I got some of it and it woke me up.”

“Oh, sorry about that. I project my thoughts by accident sometimes, especially if it’s a nightmare.” Kylo fidgets and looks away, “It’ll happen occasionally when my control slips. Sorry in advance.”

Hux notices Kylo’s obvious avoidance of the question, but doesn’t press him on it. He’s beginning to realise that Kylo dodges questions like the plague and has trouble talking about certain things. _It’s probably best if I leave that matter alone._

“Anything interesting planned for today, Kylo?” This is Hux’s attempt at casual conversation, something he’s never been very good at.

Kylo gives him a small smile, obviously thankful for the change of topic,  
“Not much. I had planned to do some reconstruction work on my lightsaber but I’m missing a part. Probably just meditate and terrify some troopers again. You?”

“Nothing special. I want to try and resolve that meeting from yesterday.”

“Need any help? I’ve haven’t got anything else pressing to do today.” Kylo sips his tea, watching Hux over the rim of the cup.

Hux shrugs,  
“If you’re offering. A fresh perspective might be what we need.”

Kylo grins,  
“Done. Tell me where you need me and when.”

* * *

 Hux arrives at the meeting room five minutes early, in order to make preparations. Careful shuffling of the seats around the table allows him to slip in an extra one. Then he sits in his usual seat and waits while the others file in.

They all take their allocated seats around the table, though if anyone notices the extra chair next to General Hux they don’t say anything. _It’s almost funny how scared they are of putting a toe out of line. Perhaps they worry I’ll report them to Snoke._

Exactly three minutes after the meeting officially starts, the door bursts open. Kylo Ren strides into the room, his long legs carrying him to Hux’s side in a mere five steps. He turns, his black cloak swirling around his legs, then pulls out the spare chair and sits. The almost imperceptible head tilt tells Hux that Kylo’s smirking under his helmet and the general chuckles internally.

_Something tells me this is going to be an interesting meeting._

There’s a subtle pressure on the back of his mind and Kylo laughs,  
_I agree, General._

* * *

* * *

 

**_Here follows an extract from the daily log of Brendol Hux II, Commanding General of the First Order._**

  _It’s been almost a month since I moved in with Kylo Ren._

_A month of trying to force feed him, trying to break his self-destructive habit._

_I’m actually really quite proud of him._

_He’s made real progress in the past four weeks._

_He actually finished his dinner before me yesterday, I was very impressed._

_I’ve noticed changes in his behaviour too._

_He’s taken to sitting next to me on the sofa after dinner, pressed up against me like a cat._

_And the nightmares have stopped, mostly._

 

_All in all, it’s been an interesting experience, being stuck with Kylo._

_It’s not an experience I want to end._

_I_ _’ve come to care for him, in a strange sort of way._

_He may  be difficult and stubborn, but he’s also sweet and kind-hearted and an excellent listener._

_Besides, I think if I leave him alone he’ll probably revert to his old habits._

 

_Kylo is an odd individual, but he amuses me._

_I…care for him…love him even…_

_I often wonder if he feels the same way…_

* * *

 

**_Here follows an extract from the daily log of Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren._ **

  _Hux and I have been co-existing for just under a month now and I have to say, I’m actually rather enjoying it._

_I’ll admit that Hux was mildly irritating for the first week or so, but then I made my decision to ignore Snoke’s orders and his attitude changed._

_Under the bossy exterior, he’s actually quite a nice person; clever and witty with a sarcastic sense of humour._

_He comforts me when my nightmares return and he likes it when I curl up next to him on the couch._

_I wouldn’t be totally opposed to this situation becoming a permanent one, but I don’t know whether Hux would approve of it._

_Possibly, maybe, probably not._

 

_Part of me hopes so…_

 

* * *

 Hux is sprawled on the couch, halfway through a rather dull technical report and bored just about witless. The door opens with a subtle hiss and closes with a metallic clunk. There’s the sound of a heavy cloak hitting the floor, then footsteps crossing the room.

Hux glances up,  
“Oh, you’re back.” He shuts off the report, “How was your day?”

Kylo sheds his outer robes and bends down to remove his boots,  
“Uneventful. Not much happened, except for one of the junior troopers falling backwards down the stairs apparently.”

Hux folds his arms,  
“Did you push him?”

“No I did not,” Kylo says indignantly, “I was merely in the med bay when he was brought in.”

Hux clicks his fingers,  
“Oh, that’s right. You had your check-up today. How’d that go?”

“All good, well, heading there.” Kylo says with a shrug, “Not quite within healthy range for most things yet, but close. DR-1426 reckons it’ll be another three to four months before I’m completely back to normal, but I’m getting there.”

Hux watches him pace,  
“Anything else?”

Kylo faces the general, the barest hint of a smile lighting his eyes,  
“Yes.” He says, almost breathlessly, “I…umm…I’ve put on weight.”

Hux freezes for a heartbeat, then he springs from the sofa, wrapping his arms around Kylo’s waist and lifting him off the ground,  
“Really? Kylo, that’s fantastic!”

Kylo squeaks in surprise and holds on tight as Hux spins them round,  
“Ah! Hux, put me down! Put me down!”

Hux releases him and they both collapse on the couch,  
“That’s wonderful news, Kylo. How much?”

“Almost three pounds.” Kylo’s cheeks are flushed and he’s grinning from ear to ear, “I take it you’re pleased, then.”

Hux kisses the knight’s cheek,  
“Very pleased. Nearly three pounds in just under a month. I’m super proud of you.”

Kylo isn’t a spectacularly affectionate person, even on one of his better days. He will let Hux hug him and he’s more than happy to sit pressed up next to the general on the couch, but that’s about as far as it goes. They’ve just about reached the point where Kylo will allow Hux to kiss his cheek, but he’s never returned the gesture.

So Hux is completely taken aback when Kylo leans in and presses their lips together. It’s a sweet, chaste kiss that tastes of black tea and speaks of gratitude and feels of nothing but love.

They break apart, gasping for breath and Hux manages to ask,  
“Not that I’m complaining, but what exactly was that for?”

Kylo smiles shyly, his deep dark eyes shining like the night sky,  
“It was a thank you. For believing in me. Even when I didn’t believe in myself.”

Hux returns the smile,  
“Anytime, darling.” He stands up, “Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

Kylo grins,  
“Dinner?”

“Thought you’d never ask.” Hux says, planting a kiss on Kylo’s forehead.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this strange experiment.  
> If you liked it, don't hesitate to let me know.  
> If you think I have some serious improving to do, please don't hesitate to let me know either.  
> Constructive criticism is always appreciated.  
> Thank you, you're amazing! :)


End file.
